In the trial approved by the Welsh Rugby Union Board, but subject to World Rugby EXCO approval tomorrow, a try will be worth six points, a conversion remains at two and penalties and dropped goals both become two point scores.
A penalty try will automatically be an eight point score with no conversion to be taken.
The aim of the new system which is part of a global series of trials arranged through World Rugby is to test whether it leads to a more open and attack focused game with increased ball in play time and fewer penalty attempts at goal.
With Wales v Italy taking place at 5pm on Saturday, the first round of Principality Premiership games are scheduled for 1.30pm. However, the Law Trials will be implemented first when Llanelli take on champions Pontypridd at 12 noon in a game which will be webcast live on s4c.cymru
Other Law changes are also being introduced in the trial:
• Uncontested scrums must involve eight players from each team.
• If time expires and a mark, free kick or penalty is awarded the referee will allow play to continue and a line-out will be allowed to take place if a team kicks to touch from a penalty.
• The sevens game variations for kick off sanctions will be introduced so a free kick will be ordered at the half way line instead of a restart kick.
The trial has been sanctioned by the WRU Board and will involve all the Principality Premiership league and Challenge Cup games but will exclude matches played by clubs from the semi-professional division in the SSE SWALEC Cup competition.
The Premiership clubs and WRU U18 Wednesday League officials have been informed of the changes and a series of briefings are currently taking place by WRU match officials and coaching staff.
The WRU Head of Rugby, Josh Lewsey, said: “I am delighted the Welsh Rugby Union is taking a lead in the world game in regards to these Law trials.
“This will attract attention from inside and outside Wales on the Principality Premiership and WRU U18 Wednesday League games.
“Internally, we were already exploring innovative ways in which we could increase ‘ball in play time’, the focus on skill acquisition and match intensity. As such, these Law Trials are a superb fit for our intentions and will hopefully provide a further stimulus to the development needs of our Pathway players.”
The Chairman of the Premiership, Chris Clarke of Cross Keys, said: “We are pleased to be part of this extremely important trial which will help shape the future of our game.
“Our involvement means the new points system will be used in an extremely competitive division so the impact the changes make should be visible and measurable.
“I urge as many supporters as possible to come and watch our games so they can make their own minds up about how the new points structure affects the game.
”All the changes being introduced will help make the game more attractive for both players and spectators.”
The WRU National Match Officials Manager, Nigel Whitehouse, added: “We will be closely involved throughout this trial period to assess the impact and the progress of the changes.
“We will be working alongside World Rugby so this will be a detailed and focused process across the whole of the season ahead.
“As well as observing the games we will be taking feedback from everyone involved to feed into our conclusion process. The results of the trial will then be fully assessed before any decisions are made about the long term scoring system for the entire game.
S4C will show the first 2015-16 Principality Premiership match, Llanelli v Pontypridd live on their website (s4c.cymru), from 12 noon on Saturday, from Parc y Scarlets.
The match will be available on-line throughout the UK and the historic first try and first successful penalty kick will be available on S4C.
S4C Sports Editor Sue Butler said, “We feel honoured to be part of this historic match. It is sure to attract rugby followers from all over the UK and generate world interest. We broadcast a number of Principality Premiership matches every season and so it is apt that S4C can help create rugby and broadcasting history. It comes at an exciting time for us, with the 2015 Rugby World Cup set to be shown on the channel. We are quietly confident that tries will be scored at Parc y Scarlets, after all it is a league respected for its open, exciting rugby.”
It is 23 years since the points system last changed, with the try increasing to five points from four in 1992
